A LOOK AHEAD * Schisms are opening between some private-sector leaders and the prospects of L.A. charter reform may be compromised as a . . . Business Group Becomes Lightning Rod for Criticism

As the Los Angeles business community struggles to sell its version for reforming the city’s charter, the actions of one controversial group are alienating some leading businesses and undermining the effort to present a united business front, according to influential city leaders.

Though several of those leaders declined to be identified, they accused the Los Angeles Business Advisors, a group of influential chief executive officers, of mishandling their charter reform campaign. LABA officials acknowledge that they have heard complaints, but say they are determined to stay the course.

“We’re going to keep on keeping on,” said Sam Bell, president of LABA. “We had a board meeting this week, and we’re going to try to generate some more broad-based support beyond just business.”

LABA’s critics, however, say the group already has dimmed the prospects of enacting a new city charter--one of the top goals of Mayor Richard Riordan, who, ironically, ran with the strong support of the business community and has devoted much of his time in office to making the city more receptive to business growth and development.

“I think the vehemence of the way that LABA has communicated its positions has put some people off,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, chairman of the elected commission. “By their putting their opposition [to establishing certain neighborhood councils] in the rhetoric of a threat, it encouraged other groups to frame their positions as threats.”

Although Chemerinsky stressed that he believes that LABA’s contribution to the debate has been helpful, he, like several observers, added that the group has become a lightning rod for criticism.

George Kieffer, chairman of the appointed commission, agreed.

“I think LABA has been characterized unfairly,” he said. “They’ve probably contributed to that a little themselves, and they’ve had others characterize them that way because they want to discredit their positions.”

In particular, LABA’s business community critics are annoyed with the organization for threatening to bankroll a campaign to defeat any charter that creates elected neighborhood councils with decision-making authority. That threat, first publicly aired in a meeting of the elected charter commission, has done little to dislodge the support for the councils but has made LABA a target of fierce criticism.

“People are just sort of shaking their heads,” one leading City Hall player said. “They don’t seem to have any sense of what really is going on here.”

That person, who asked not to be identified, said he was puzzled by LABA’s efforts, but added that he ultimately does not think the group will hurt the overall charter reform campaign. Next year, voters will have the chance to consider at least one--and possibly two--new city charters. The elected commission can place its work directly on the ballot, either in April or June, while the appointed commission must submit its recommendations to the City Council, which will decide whether to put them on the ballot.

“At the end of the day,” that observer said of LABA, “they won’t cause much harm because they’re not effective enough to cause much harm.”

Another local political strategist said he too is amazed by the organization’s travails. Despite its well-heeled backers, that strategist argued that it has yet to demonstrate much influence over the charter reform debate. To the contrary, he said, “they seem to make just about everyone mad.”

Some leaders say LABA’s tactics have left it increasingly isolated. Some San Fernando Valley business groups are wary of LABA because it won’t relent in its adamance toward neighborhood councils, while some business organizations that support its positions are worried that its composition--the organization is made up overwhelmingly of wealthy, white businessmen--will be an election liability when the proposed charter appears on the ballot sometime next year.

“They’ve played right into the stereotype of the corporate cabal,” said Geoffrey Garfield, administrative director of the elected commission. “They really look like bullies.”

Playing High-Profile Role in Major Debate

The group’s members include some of Los Angeles’ most prominent executives, including Mike Bowlin of Arco and Mark Willes, publisher of The Times and chairman of Times Mirror Corp. Although it was formed before the charter reform debate and the related San Fernando Valley secession effort, LABA’s role in those discussions has dramatically elevated its public profile--and earned it significant criticism.

Bell said he has heard the unhappiness with LABA--some of it emanating from the business community itself--but he attributed most of it to the group’s determination to play a high-profile role in a major city debate.

“We’re trying to make this a better place to live and a better place to do business,” he said. “We could be accused of getting out there first, but things were moving along a little too slowly for our members, and we wanted to get moving.”

In fact, LABA was a relatively late entry into the charter debate. LABA remains among the most prominent groups of business leaders to weigh in on key charter reform proposals, but it did not unveil some of its key recommendations until this summer. By the time LABA began pushing for a 35-member city council, which it believes will improve the quality of representation by shrinking council districts, the appointed charter commission already was on record favoring a much smaller increase, from the current 15 members to 21.

Influencing the Reform Debate

The elected commission, meanwhile, was studying an increase as well, but it too was thinking more modestly. When the elected commission recently took the matter up in public session, its members divided between those who are satisfied with 15 members and those who would favor an increase to 25. LABA’s proposal attracted no support.

Similarly, the elected commission has yet to give up on creation of locally elected neighborhood councils, whose boards would be able to help influence local matters across the city. LABA vehemently opposes that idea, which supporters say would broaden democracy but opponents say would gridlock the city bureaucracy and possibly deepen inequities between rich and poor neighborhoods.

Although neither commission has signed on with LABA’s key recommendations, Bell said he believes the group has influenced the reform debate and will continue to do so. Both commissions are in key drafting phases and hope to encourage public comment throughout the fall, so there remains ample opportunity for them to reconsider positions that they have tentatively struck.

“I think we’ve got both commissions thinking about and talking about the issues we see as important,” Bell said. “Have we become kind of black hats in the eyes of the elected commission? Yeah, I think that’s possible. . . . But if we had it all to do over again, I don’t think we’d do it any differently.”